Headstrong Health: The Psychology of Getting Fit

You walk in the door and make a beeline for the kitchen. Maybe the first thing you see is a stack of envelopes or a set of dishes. You open the fridge immediately, then open the snack drawer and rummage around the crinkly bags. You pick something crunchy, and if you’re lucky, you sit down with it. Your mind glazes over, and suddenly you come-to with an empty bag and snack-food fingers. What gives?

Source: http://www.williamsonhomesutah.com/images/gal/Granite-L-Kitchen-fruit.jpg

We all have habits that can sabotage our health goals, especially in our main food source: the kitchen! This space should inspire energy, not stress and distraction. Take these tips to the kitchen to get you off auto-pilot and back into control of your snacking – and your space!

1. First things first, when you walk in the door:

Take a detour. Move your first stop to somewhere other than the kitchen.
Make flowers, a plant, or a nice picture the first thing you see instead of bills or dishes.
Make something you love the first thing you can reach.

2. Out of sight, out of mind:

Move snack foods to inaccessible locations. If you need a stepstool to reach it, you’ll think twice.
Give yourself some low hanging fruit, literally. Get a 3-tiered fruit basket to put healthy choices at eye level.
Toss chocolate, cookies, and other easy-to-eat calorie dense foods in the freezer.
Create a “food curtain.” Push limiting foods to the back of the fridge or cabinet, and bring healthy snacks, water, or spices to the front. Bring frozen fruit bags to the front of your freezer, and push the desserts down low.

3. Squirrel! Maximize good distractions:

Pot some plants. The act of watering and pruning plants gives your mind something to focus on, and your hands something to do other than open the fridge.
Bring in books, puzzles, a soothing music player, or games. (A TV or computer is not recommended, as it increases mindless consumption).
Make food journaling part of your process. Keep a notebook nearby, or log foods in an app like Lose It!.

4. Switch it up on your brain 

Change your snack drawer, and put in tea or plastic containers instead. This serves to break the habit chain your brain and body have made.
Clean your fridge. It’s more appealing to pull produce from a wiped-down shelf than one with crumbs and leaks.
Keep your bills and stressors elsewhere. Just seeing them can cause distracted stress-eating.
Take a seat. If you’re standing, your mind thinks you’re too busy to focus on the act of eating. Relax and chew.

5. Prepare for battle

Remove the crinkle, and reduce the appeal – take snacks out of their original container. Companies purposefully create a sensory experience around snacking, and the images, words, and feel of the bag are all part of the game.
Never eat from the bag. Portion out foods you eat in bulk into 100-200 calorie packs.
Leave positive, encouraging, or tough reminders for yourself as barriers to entry on snack foods and associated places.

Your hungry mind will stomp into the kitchen unannounced. Having the proper defense set up will stop the habits you’ve formed and give you back control and clarity.